In the volcanic highlands of northern Jordan, north of Amman engineers are mining a natural resource not for energy, but for agriculture. The material: crushed volcanic rock, now also processed into a mineral-rich soil that may hold the key to reducing water and fertilizer demand in arid regions.

The project is led by Watad, a Jordanian company founded in 2019. The firm processes volcanic rocks such as zeolite, basalt, and pozzolana into what it calls “volcanic soil”—a porous, salt-resistant substrate that improves water retention and plant growth in dry climates.

“There’s zeolite, like the one we have in the mine here. There is zeolitic tuff in one of the other mines we have. There are basalt and pozzolana,” said Ibrahim al-Manaseer, a mine engineer at the site near Mafraq in an interview with Reuters. “All of them are volcanic rocks that formed thousands of years ago.”

Watad currently produces around one million tons of volcanic soil annually, and its CEO, Mohannad al-Manaseer, says the company could scale up rapidly. al-Manaseer said the goal is to replace conventional fertilizers and soil additives with a more durable and environmentally stable alternative.

Early field reports suggest volcanic soil may reduce irrigation needs by up to 60% and cut fertilizer use by 80%. That could have significant implications for Jordan, which ranks as the second most water-scarce country in the world, with per capita water availability under 100 cubic meters per year, well below the UN’s threshold for extreme water stress.

When we visited Jordan we learned that hotels and homes get fresh water shipped to reservoirs weekly. Some people keep second hidden reservoirs to avoid running out.

Related: Jordan’s leading ecological organizations

While long-term studies are still needed to assess environmental and agronomic impacts across diverse ecosystems, the use of volcanic material in soil enhancement is not new. Zeolites, in particular, have been studied for decades due to their ion exchange and adsorption properties.

What’s novel is the scale—and the urgency. In a region where desertification, rising temperatures, and resource stress are converging, Jordan’s push to mine its volcanic past could represent a rare alignment of geology and necessity.

Jordan has been working with water cooperation with Israel and the Palestinian Authority over the last couple of decades through Friends of the Earth, Middle East – Ecopeace. They are working to broker small-scale local projects in education, but also are working on larger water for energy swaps. The October 7 terror attack changed the political outlook for Israel and Jordanian cooperation, two countries that have a signed peace treaty.

Time for water cooperation? 

The Wadi Araba Treaty established cooperation between Jordan and Israel on various matters, including water sharing. In November 2022, both Jordan and Israel signed a declaration of intent at the UN climate conference to rehabilitate and protect the Jordan River, aiming to reduce pollution and restore water flow.

A 2013 agreement involved developing a desalination plant in Aqaba, with potable water shared between Israel and Jordan, and increased water releases from Lake Tiberias to Jordan. But in November 2023, Jordan announced it would not sign a proposed water-for-energy deal with Israel, citing Israel’s actions in Gaza as the reason.

Jordan is currently advancing its own water security through the Aqaba–Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project, aiming to produce about 300 million cubic meters of clean drinking water annually. Jordan is landlocked except for a small strip of the Red Sea, where it is bordered by Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The Abraham Accords which is creating a peace treaty and regional cooperation between countries such as Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, will likely lead to water cooperation for a very dry Jordan.

::Wated

The post Jordan turns to ancient fire and mines volcanic soil to solve water crisis appeared first on Green Prophet.

Reviving Gaza’s fishing sector hinges on restoring peace and safe access to the sea

When Hamas Palestinians attacked Israel they wouldn’t image this would lead to such a collapse of Gaza’s once thriving fishing sector. The situation could still be reversed quickly when peace is restored and fishers are granted safe access to fishing waters, along with the resumption of imports of essential fish production inputs and tools, says the UN’s FAO.

The impact of the ongoing escalation on the fishing sector is devastating, according to the UN. Gaza’s average daily catch between October 2023 to April 2024 dropped to just 7.3 percent of 2022 levels, causing a $17.5 million production loss.

The destruction of Gaza’s two main aquaculture farms, along with the hatchery facility, has also left the sector unable to produce alternative aquatic foods through aquaculture. According to one assessment, before the conflict over 6 000 individuals in Gaza, including 4,200 registered fishers and boat owners, relied on fishing as their main income. The sector supported around 110,000 people.

North of Wadi Gaza, which separates the northern and southern parts of the Strip, the Port of Gaza City has been severely damaged, with most fishing boats destroyed.

The damage to  Gaza’s fishing sector has exacerbated an already dire food security crisis. Fish, once a vital source of protein and other essential nutrients for Gazans, is now nearly unavailable. And with Hamas holding food stocks hostage, the people are at wit’s end.

“In Gaza’s fishing areas now lie broken boats, torn nets, and ruined infrastructure, standing in stark contrast to the once-vibrant industry that supported thousands of fishers for generations,” said the FAO Deputy Director-General, Beth Bechdol. It is not clear if she was there personally.

“For Gazans, the sea was not just a source of food, but a source of livelihood and identity. FAO can assist to help rebuild Gaza’s fishing industry, but for this to happen peace must first be established and fishers must be allowed to operate their boats and cast their nets without fear of harm,” she added.   

Ciro Fiorillo, Head of the FAO Office for the West Bank and Gaza Strip, stated, “FAO is ready to restart projects, replenish damaged boats and equipment, and inject emergency funds as soon as these key fishing inputs for production are allowed to enter the Strip, a sustained ceasefire is in place, and access to the sea is restored.

“This will help Gazan fishers resume their activities, revitalize livelihoods, contribute to economic recovery, and restore dignity to the people of Gaza.”

Before the escalation of hostilities, FAO supported over 4,000 Gazan fishers, improving food security, safety, and sustainability. Key initiatives like the marine cage project and enhanced fish stock monitoring, helped to establish inland fish farms, enhanced fishers’ skills, shared best practices, and supplied essential cold chain resources, including solar panels, ensuring a more resilient food source for Gaza.

Despite all the billions in aid given to Gaza, most of it was used to build tunnels and bombs and the fishing industry on its own could not survive without outside help, which raises an eye. How we can help Gazans?

All images supplied by the UN. December 2024. Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip.

The post How to help Gaza fishermen appeared first on Green Prophet.

It’s a long debated question, sometimes a joke, and it’s also become a serious competition. Who does hummus best in the Middle East? Hummus is a dip and a spread, but Middle Easterners eat it as a hearty breakfast, warm off the stove, with a pita, lemon, parsley and lots of olive oil. A dollop of cooked fava beans, ful, is also welcome among hungry working men. Since the Hezbollah started sending missiles to Israel, people from Lebanon have started engaging with Israelis across the border, asking for a hand in peace. Their common language: hummus.

One X account Mount Levnon, represents a Christian Maronite group of Lebanese. The identity of the account is anonymous but they are advocating for “a free Maronite state, committed to a Mediterranean alliance with Israel , Cyprus, and Greece.” And one of the ways they engage with Israel is by sharing hummus tips and secrets. (We have the best recipe of hummus in Israel, provided by Maxim founders – Jews and Arabs who co-own a restaurant in Haifa).

But Mount Levnon might not agree. “I’m raising my kids to be super friendly with Israelis, treat them like family, chat about anything under the sun. But the moment hummus or falafel comes up, that’s where we draw a BIG, BOLD RED LINE,” they write on their account, joking that real hummus is from Lebanon and that “fake” hummus is from Israel and it’s marketed under the Sabra brand.

One on team Israel, Klaas, writes. “If only there could be peace and open borders so we can come sit around the table together and fight this out once and for all.:

But When Mount Levon saw that Israelis were also making a version of hummus made from chocolate, the line was crossed.

Mount Levnon, who is pro-Israel and is starting to learn Hebrew says jokingly, “I’m officially breaking the ceasefire, stop putting chocolate in your hummus. Come on Israel, we need to talk.”

Carlos Abadi on team Israel replies, “We surrender, admit to heresy, and accept the punishment.”

Slow Food chef Moshe Basson from Jerusalem who is from Chefs for Peace,  told Green Prophet that hummus was eaten by Queen Ester in the Bible. It’s roots go way back. As for who made it first, maybe Adam and Eve? Who makes it best? The heat is on. Also don’t be surprised that if you visit Israel or Lebanon that locals fight over which joint makes the best hummus. Some more on the debate about hummus in Jaffa.

The post Would you try chocolate hummus? appeared first on Green Prophet.

We learn from models such as Gidon Bromberg – the founder of EcoPeace – how a career in international environmental law can change the world and help young people impact the consequences of climate change. As countries across the globe struggle with climate change Middle East states such as Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan show the world how struggles with climate negotiation cooperation can lead to hope for sustainable peace.

Bromberg and his Jordan and Palestinian partners at EcoPeace have created a project to dismantle areas of complications and form stronger bonds. When there are sensitive subjects in relationships between countries, climate agreements becomes millions of times more complicated and much more challenging to discuss solutions among enemies. For this reason, EcoPeace has created the Green Blue Deal, which may be an answer to climate troubles in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Green Blue Deal

The Middle East is a ticking time bomb. To defuse catastrophic consequences which may be larger than the climate question, the Green Blue Deal has worked up four key areas in order to create climate resilience in the Middle East.

For starters, the Green Blue Deal attempts to improve relations between Jordan, Palestine, and Israel by creating a water and energy exchange system that allows the countries to share water and energy to benefit all of the Middle East. In this deal Israel will build a desalination plant in the region of Emek Hefer and Jordan will be able to purchase the water at reasonable rates.

The business arrangements, to be financed by third parties, will be part of a larger business plan that includes Jordan developing and supplying solar energy which it can then feed back to the Israeli grid. The cost of labor and more open space makes Jordan a more ideal place for solar energy production over Israel.

Part of the deal, EcoPeace will rehabilitate the shared Jordan River and will create education programs that target youth groups for early education on climate resiliency and diplomacy.

Through this deal, EcoPeace charters the way toward a region that is not only creating a greener environment but also building a stronger community. Settling disputes via climate discussion, is a passive method of compliance between nations that were previously in a high-tension state.

By working together “we can build the framework for peace and climate security for all,” hopes EcoPeace directors collectively. This deal sets up the framework for a mutual economic support system for the environment, and promotes solutions between Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

This is not only an Israeli, Palestinian or Jordanian discussion. EcoPeace also calls on leaders from other countries to help support the Middle Eastern deal.

How local conflict impacts us globally

Countries such as Australia, Germany, the United States, and Russia are all being urged to join a ‘coalition of the willing’ to help EcoPeace support the implementation of the Green Deal. In addition, countries in Europe can even benefit from EcoPeace’s plans, as Bromberg explains to Green Prophet from his office in Tel Aviv:

“All public areas were without heating in the winter,” and this was due to being dependent on Russian gas that was inaccessible at the time. However, with renewable energy technologies, countries all over the world can benefit from connections with other countries by getting resources for renewable energy from others.

This is why relationships between nations are so important, not only in the Middle East but everywhere. This plan can lay the foundation for inspiration for countries all over the world to come to a middle ground, settle disputes, and better our environment.

The post The Blue Green Deal and climate pacts between enemies appeared first on Green Prophet.

Just around the beginning of Covid something remarkable happened. After years of cold shoulders, the Arabian Emirati nations which make up the United Arab Emirates declared peace and friendship with Israel. It was a first from the Arab world to thaw out decades of boycotts and sanctions. While Israel has official peace with Jordan and Egypt, nothing could have prepared Israel for the open arms it received from Dubai.

The United Arab Emirates and Israel share ambitions in renewable energy and both face extreme water shortages. Some of the early partnerships in business and cooperation will be in these areas. Just recently Masdar, the net zero energy city that really has yet to take off, announced it will work with Israel on desalination technology. 

Desalination is mainly constrained by filters and the amount of energy needed to create the end product. Out of necessity Israel has developed an industry out of filter technology and renewable energy. 

“I can tell you that Masdar is already active in Israel and we are exploring opportunities to help Israel reach very ambitious targets,” said Mohammad El Ramahi, director of asset management and technical services for Masdar’s clean energy division in the United Arab Emirates. He was speaking at a panel discussion with Israeli and US energy executives at the US Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.

He explained how Israel and Jordan, which have an official peace treaty, but luke warm relations, want to use renewables in their energy mixes to 30 per cent by 2030.

“That is 15 gigawatts, which opens a great horizon for developers like Masdar to compete … against price and against value creation for the best welfare of the Israeli people and also create opportunities,” said El Ramahi.

Following the announcement the UAE, Jordan and Israel signed an agreement to develop a renewable energy and desalination plant in Jordan to slow climate change and add to the growth of clean energy in the country.

According to The National, the partners plan to build solar photovoltaic plants that can generate 600 megawatts of electricity in Jordan. The electricity will be exported to Israel, which will supply 200 million cubic metres of water from a new desalination project.

Feasibility studies for the project will begin in 2022.

The UAE became the first country in the Arab world to pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Israel also pledged to become carbon neutral by the same year. Saudi Arabia pledged to be carbon neutral by 2060.  All promises are at least 30 years away which seems too late. 

But there is hope for peace perhaps: “The Abraham Accord not only opens horizons for [the] UAE and Israel, but also for US companies and for Jordanian companies to collaborate and explore opportunities in the spectrum of not just in renewable energy but also in sustainable water desalination,” said Mr El Ramahi.

Masdar not only built a model city in the United Arab Emirates, it’s also an energy company. They are an early developer of renewables in Jordan and their first overseas investment in a Jordanian wind farm in 2013. It also developed Baynouna, a 200MW single solar energy project located east of the capital Amman, which became operational in 2020.

The post Desalination investments from unlikely business partners appeared first on Green Prophet.

The Arab world has bravely taken on a new partner in peace and prosperity this week by welcoming the first flight of Israeli and American diplomats on an historic flight to Abu Dhabi yesterday. It is a new dawn where two moderate superpowers were only operating cooperatively quietly – until now. Israel and the UAE foment their willingness to create a new Middle East (or Western East) with an official visit by an Israel-US delegation led by Jared Kushner this week. 

Israel and the United Arab Emirates –– also known as the UAE –– have a lot more in common in renewable energy, water resume and conservation and desert agriculture, than let’s say Israel does with the northern country of Norway. But for years outdated Middle East bigotry pervaded the ranks of the Arab League of which Israel was never a part despite about half its population being both Israeli Arabs and Arab Jews from countries like Iraq, Morocco, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. 

Business will find a way and did go on over the years go on behind the backs of the bullies. I have met with leaders from Arab nation governments, including Iraq, that were very keen on cooperating with Israel on cleantech and water tech. What was stopping them from doing it in the open was a broker and the US President Trump helped achieve that.

We spoke with experts from a variety of fields: carbon, energy, water, and green building to find reasonable opportunities and pathways for NGOS, businesses and humankind to go forward with building this world into a net positive place. We all want prosperity for all. 

He knows the sweet spots of both nations: decarbonizing together

François Le Scornet is president of Carbonexit Consulting in Grenoble, France, where he works as a senior energy consultant, supporting industry, startups, investors and NGOs. He was at the last World Energy Congress in Abu Dhabi last September and understands the challenges and opportunities that such an agreement can bring. 

Le Scornet tells Green Prophet: “I strongly believe that the very recent UAE-Israel peace deal can only be seen as a positive step when it comes to the development of the low-carbon energy sector in Israel in particular.

“The UAE is clearly an oil giant, no doubt, I actually had the chance to visit the impressive The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company or ADNOC headquarters in Abu Dhabi last September, and they are also extremely active in the renewable sector of course.”

Le Scornet continues: “They host IRENA as well as some of the largest solar PV solar plants in the world and we sometimes forget about that in the West. The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) actually announced partners to develop the world’s largest solar power plant: 2 Gigawatts at the Al Dhafra plant–  just a few days ago. 

“With very limited oil and gas, Israel has a lot of innovative startups in the decarbonized power sector and a strong solar sector like the UAE. Israel will strongly push for new energy and water infrastructures in the frame of its post-COVID-19 stimulus plan and a strong growth is expected in the solar sector with a total of 2GW to be installed for about $1.6B within the next few years. 

“Israel could become a new market for the UAE renewable energy companies as well as for the players involved in the energy hungry desalination plant ecosystem. On the other hand, many Israeli startups may use the UAE as a way to penetrate the regional Middle Eastern market for their innovative products and services in energy storage, smart grids etc,” Le Scornet concludes. 

Renewable energy will reduce conflict

Mark Cann, the CEO of Cryomatiks in Florida works to provide zero emission technology for transportation and energy storage. He knows about the cost of conflict for Mother Earth: “Military conflict is notoriously difficult on the environment,” he tells Green Prophet. 

“Even potential conflict has long lasting negative effects on the environment with the toxic military sites left over from the Cold War as just one example. So any step towards de-escalation of potential military conflict should normally be a boost for the environment. 

Cann continues: “As far as an increase in renewable energy as a direct impact from the current Israel-UAE agreement, that’s a bit like the tail wagging the dog. Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia’s former Minister of Oil, was famously quoted as saying ‘The Stone Age didn’t end for lack of stone, and the oil age will end long before the world runs out of oil.’

“In other words, it’s not so much that the current agreement will result in more renewable energy but rather renewable energy will result in more agreements. Commerce has proven to be a productive pathway for various states and regions to co-exist. Countries that are heavily dependent on exporting petroleum to balance sovereign budgets may experience more social unrest relative to the countries that don’t.”

Agriculture is energy too so save water

Aadith Moorthy, founder and CEO of ConserWater is working between San Francisco and Israel and they are invested in the peace deal already. His company offers a sensor-free way to grow more food using less water. “We have large initiatives in Israel and with the peace deal, we have also seen a stronger uptick of collaboration between our Israel team and upcoming projects in the UAE,” he tells Green Prophet,  

“This deal is going to be very great from an environment perspective for the entire world: Israel has historically been a leader in water technology and precision agriculture, which is necessary for the world’s population to better adapt to climate change, which will result in greater resource scarcity and more frequent droughts,” Moorthy says.  

“On the other hand,” he notes, “the UAE has recently become a global clean energy hub through its aggressive investment in cleantech in the past decade. The synergy of the combination of these two will provide humanity with the right resources to both reduce further climate change, while also enabling humanity to adapt to the warming that is already happening.”

Desalinating Israel and the UAE is also reducing wars on the horizon

Environmental designer and artist Pablo Soloman from Texas considers himself a lifelong leader in conservation, a person of science, an “accurate futurist” and also grew up in a very multicultural mixed home where they spoke a number of languages including Arabic. He was the first to come up with the idea of the Red Dead Sea Canal, and explained to the world why tree planting is good for carbon sequestering. 

He believes that all renewable energy applications are limited in use until we find ways to store electricity efficiently, and desalination can be the key as both nations are now heavily reliant on desalination for freshwater, a process which is very energy intensive: “The best use in many places for renewable energy that cannot be directly stored is to use that electricity to desalinate seawater and/or to pump water into reservoirs for hydroelectric power back up,” he tells Green Prophet. 

“Desalinating seawater cheaply will be the greatest boost to the health, economies and peace in the Middle East. More fresh water would increase food production and would reduce the chance of wars over water that are currently on the horizon. Renewable energy is only one part of cleaning up our environment. Use of natural gas is a step up from less clean carbon fuels,” he notes. 

But Soloman addresses, “Keep in mind that in effect fossil fuels are stored solar energy. They pack a huge amount of energy in a small package. As economies expand, more money will be available to develop more efficient and effective ways of cleaning and repurposing emissions from fossil fuels. 

“As peace and prosperity expand, nuclear material money can be used for electrical generation instead of bomb making. As economies interact peacefully and share technology, there will be increased cultural understanding and possibly tolerance and acceptance. People gain greater understanding and respect through working together on shared interests than from threats of war,” Soloman concludes. 

Invest in solar, destabilize destroyers

Joshua M. Pearce, a PhD and director of the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Lab, Michigan Technological University says that “renewable energy deployment in the Middle East can be a key factor in promoting peace. 

If the US continues to follow the standard model, relatively weak diplomacy, military threats and economic sanctions could lead to another Iraq-like war. Although Iran and Iraq have differences, most observers would agree that the same outcome and price are likely results. In purely economic terms, the CBO estimates that the Iraq-US war cost about $2.4 trillion. 

“In a study published in the Pearce Studies Journal, I showed that strong US support for solar in Iran would obtain all the benefits from denuclearizing Iran for a fraction of the cost of the standard model, while earning a higher return and improve environmental impact in the process,” Pearce tells Green Prophet.

Toward a $1 trillion  solar energy goal

How? Today, solar photovoltaic (PV) technology is the lowest-cost electricity source and is thus unsurprisingly growing the most rapidly, Pearce explains. “Unfortunately, tensions between Israel and the Arab world have prevented the region from obtaining the PV deployment scale, which has limited the deployment velocity.”

Pearce explores: “Today, the region’s operational PV capacity is at $5 to 7.5 billion USD, with another $15 to 20 billion USD slated for deployment by 2024. The Middle East Solar Industry Association reports energy investment in the Middle East region could hit $1 trillion USD in the next few years. 

“The peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unquestionably benefits the $1 trillion of solar energy goal. Peace and stability will provide the security for investors that is needed to drop PV prices even further with scale of both large centralized and distributed generation solar options in the Middle East. The UAE is already a solar leader in the region for PV, which now can be more easily exported in the region. 

Largest PV plant reaches record low power prices

“They launched commercial operations at the 1.177 GW Sweihan PV project, Abu Dhabi in November the allocated the fifth, 0.9GW phase of the massive, 5 GW Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park for a record low power price of $0.01693/kWh.

“My research has clearly shown that a wiser, more-profitable way to invest in the elimination of nuclear capability in Iran is through solar. This ‘generous solar option‘ shows that the US can obtain all the benefits from denuclearizing Iran for a fraction of the cost of the standard model, while earning a higher return and improve environmental impact in the process.

“This generous solar option is not even necessary if the region can enjoy <$0.02/kWh solar electricity funded by partnerships between the Arab world and Israel. 

“Why invest in nuclear if solar beats it without any of the risk?”

The post A new energy future fueled by Emirati and Israeli peace appeared first on Green Prophet.

A group of Palestinian guys from Beit Jalla in the West Bank, Palestine have decided to take a chance on peace – by swing dancing with Israelis.

Watch the heart-warming video below.

With some encouragement from an ex-Berliner named Bibi who moved to Tel Aviv the Palestinians have started to swing dance together with the Israelis who already have a formed group. The Palestinians and Israelis now have regular sessions in Beit Jalla, at Hosh Jasmin, an organic farm outside of Bethlehem.

Peace, love and Lindy Hop!

The Palestinians started dancing with the Israelis during the Israeli war with Gaza and have decided to take a chance and “swing” in the name of peace.

The guys, in their 20s, are hoping to start dancing in Tel Aviv.

The Israelis and Palestinians are now swinging together, and through Indiegogo are trying to raise a mere $3500 to bring the guys over to a swing festival in Ireland in October to be with the Israeli group and to meet people around the world to dance.

The swing dancers have already raised one quarter of their goal.

They write:

“The organizers of the Cork Jazz Dance Exchange (CJDX), a big swing festival in Ireland, have invited us and some dancers from the Israeli community to come to their festival on October 2014 and experience what it’s like to be part of the global swing community and dance together, as ‘Swing for Peace’.

“They have dedicated one night of this festival for a special fundraiser for the education of refugee children in the Middle East and would love to have us there to promote a peaceful way of dealing with the conflict.”

How swing dancing for peace began

Bibi, the initiator of the project says: “When I met Henry, a German teacher living in Beit Jalla, at a swing event in Tel Aviv I was partly joking when I said: so lets do swing dancing in Beit Jalla. But then we had a coffee with his friend Andrea, a German teacher in Bethlehem, and she really loved the idea.

“It took us a while to get the first lesson started. First we did not find enough people, then Henry wanted to go on holiday, then we did not find a place – but eventually we did. I had some much fun teaching them. And every time I do, I enjoy it more. The students are wonderful and the lessons are so much fun; very relaxed and our emphasis is on having a good time.

“I can’t get enough seeing the group dance by now. And the best time is after the lesson, when we all sit together, eat the amazing food of Hosh Yasmin and drink home made Arak or Taybeh beer from the region,” says Bibi.

Hussam, from Beit Jalla, participating in the swing says: “I have heard about swing dancing from a friend, and when I got to know what is swing dancing it motivated me to follow the training each week and love to dance more and meet new friends, both Palestinians and Israeli.

“A dance for peace and a dance for justice”

“As Palestinians, we have made swing dancing to be a dance for exchange, a dance for peace and justice…swing dancing became as a small tool for seeking peace in the Holy Land.”

A couple of months ago I interviewed ballroom dance world champion Pierre Dulaine about dance as a vehicle for peace. He runs international dance exchange programs to teach kids tolerance.

Originally from Jaffa, he has created peace between Israeli Arabs and Jews by teaching them how to ballroom dance together. See the video below:

Thanks to hipsters (you can find plenty of them in Tel Aviv), swing dancing is seeing a revival around the globe. Swing dance developed along with jazz music in the 1920s to1950s, with the best known among the swing dances being the Lindy Hop. 

Ask your grandmother to show you the moves!

Want to send some Palestinian guys to Ireland so they can swing for peace? Donate to the Indiegogo campaign here.

Thanks to Dana Meirson for the tip, and documentation.

The post Palestinian guys swing dance for peace with Israelis (video) appeared first on Green Prophet.

Friendship through sunflower seeds is still going to happen between Israelis and Palestinians, says artist Noam Edry who has organized a big sunflower seed chew off, called Seeds of Bliss.

Edry refuses to let politics get in the way of her monumental sunflower seed peace effort. Even when politics translate into siren alerts.

She says: ” Here I am at Hazera Genetics with their huge donation of seeds for our MEGA CHEW in Nablus. Just after I left the factory there was a siren. I feel like someone is watching over me to make sure we get the work done.

“Must keep going even in days of madness. Now the seeds are safe in Afula and hopefully the universe is getting the right message: Get on with it mates! End the war so we can get cracking already!”

Jewish and Arab chewers from Afula and Jenin were invited to contribute to the pile of chewed-up sunflower seed husks in Nablus this month, although the current situation doesn’t exactly nurture gestures of mutual goodwill. All the same, we think grassroots projects can eventually influence people, and wish Edry’s project success.

Related: The code is cracked – why sunflowers dance

In fact, we can’t wait to see photos of the final installation in a London art gallery – a mountain of chewed husks and the sidewalk garbage swept up with them, representing Arabs and Jews sitting down together of an evening, drinking coffee and spitting seeds. Were that it were so simple.

::Seeds of Bliss

More on food, water, and peace from Green Prophet:

• Eating Your Way Through the Shuk
• Can Shared Water be the Key to Peace?

The post Eating sunflower seeds for peace appeared first on Green Prophet.

Israel’s national water company, Mekorot (who we’ve interviewed here), is expanding with projects across the globe. It will build and operate two desalination plants in Cyprus to supply almost half of the country’s drinking water. Also on the horizon is a $180 million deal to build a water filtering facility along the La Plata River near Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mekorot Chairman Alex Wiznitzer said he hopes Mekorot’s water projects will be able to create contacts in nearby Arab countries. The United Nation’s has called the Middle East the world’s most water-stressed region. Water security is a vital regional issue.

Wiznitzer told Reuters: “The underdeveloped world doesn’t understand that water is the number one problem in the world. Not oil. Not gas. Not other resources. Water.”

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development predicts that by 2050 global water demand will increase by 55 percent. By marketing its expertise and technologies related to wastewater reuse, water security and desalination, Israel has developed a billion-dollar industry.

Mekorot plans to invest $1.5 billion over the next four years to reach its goal of reclaiming 90 percent of Israel’s wastewater. The company says it currently reuses 75 percent, mainly for irrigation, making it the world’s most efficient national water recycling system. Spain claims the distant second place with 12 percent.

Geoffrey D. Dabelko, the director of the Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP), a nonpartisan policy forum on environment, population, health, and security issues at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington DC, believes that cooperation over limited water resources could potentially lead to peace in the Middle East. So far cooperative regional projects have been marginal and inconsistent. It looks like only time will tell if waning water resources in the Middle East will lead to increased cooperation or conflict.

::Reuters

Image of Nahalei Menashe water project reservoir in Caesarea, Israel, via RickP, Wikimedia Commons 

The post Israel’s Mekorot Builds Global Connections Through Water appeared first on Green Prophet.

In wealthy Western countries, renewable energy developments are a source of progress, pride and smart business. For Israel and Jordan, two Middle Eastern countries severely lacking in water and energy resources, renewable energy is a matter of survival.

That’s why there’s been a new green twist to the Trilateral Industrial Development Foundation (TRIDE), founded in 1996 as a pilot project under the wing of the BIRD Foundation – the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation — to create joint ventures between Israeli, Jordanian and American companies. The latest iteration of the cooperative project will support water, agritech and renewable energy companies in the two neighboring nations, which have a peace treaty but only limited dealings.

I spoke with BIRD executive director Eitan Yudilevich and he explains that Jordan is supported heavily by USAID because US State Department considers it important to contribute to a stable and prospering Jordan for the sake of peace and economic development.

TRIDE, run out of BIRD’s Israel office, gives matching grants of up to half a million dollars to three partners with mutual goals.

Biofuel from organic waste

TRIDE has already funded a handful of partnerships, most recently a research project started in 2009 to produce a second-generation synthetic diesel biofuel from organic raw materials.

The Israeli company MME IL, the National Energy Research Center in Jordan and the Florida-based Nibor Enterprises set out to “map the existence of raw materials in Jordan and in Israel and to build a model to see if the process can be financially viable,” Yudilevich tells ISRAEL21c.

“I think in this type of project it is important to mention that there were a great many visits from both the Jordanians into Israel and the Israelis into Jordan,” he stresses. “There were thousands of emails between them, and Skype calls every week.”

The next stage is to use the results to set up a plant close to the raw material sources, whether in Jordan, Israel or on the southern border between the two.

The biofuel can be produced from forest residues, olive-processing waste, digester sludge, chicken manure and all types of organic raw materials, says Yudilevich. Right now the companies involved are looking for financing to build the pilot plant.

“We are now in touch with both an Israeli and Jordanian company on energy efficiency. They already have a relationship and we are waiting for their proposal. It’s a very promising project in agricultural technologies to improve the quality of seed plants.”

Business can lead to peace

The so-called Arab Spring hasn’t made any difference in how Israeli and Jordanian partners do business, says Yudilevich, who frequently makes the trip over the border.

He also notes that looking at the trends, trade has actually improved between Israel and Jordan over the last year. He believes that investing in, and participating in, projects like TRIDE can further advance the peace process in ways that government negotiations cannot achieve.

“There are two aspects to this,” says Yudilevich, a Chilean-born Israeli Jew. “The clear aspect is that we have neighbors and if we have trade with our neighbors it is good for our economy. Now, it won’t be a huge amount of trade in economic value because other markets are larger, like China. [However,] clearly economic value is no less important than creating this relationship which makes the peace treaty [between Israel and Jordan], still relatively cold, into a peace treaty among the people.”

::TRIDE

This story was first published on ISRAEL21c – www.israel21c.org

The post TRIDE Links Jordan, Israel and US in Clean Tech appeared first on Green Prophet.