Baptism in the Jordan.
A Rash Decision!
Ron Ross - BFP News
Email: ronrossbfp@hotmail.com
28 October 2006
Naaman the leper was told by Elisha to dip seven times in the Jordan River and be healed. Today Gidon Bromberg, the Israel Director of Friends of the Earth - Middle East says the Jordan River is a health hazard and people being baptised in it risk getting a rash. The problem comes from sewage being dumped into the Jordan.
"Almost no fresh water is flowing down the Jordan River anymore. It's true there are springs along the way which replenish a little bit, but unfortunately it has become the dumping yard of countries," said Mira Edelstein, an expert of the Jordan Valley and a spokeswoman for Friends of the Earth-Middle East. .
Israel, Jordan and Syria are in what can be called a water war. The outcome is a Jordan Trickle rather than a River. The three countries have all diverted upstream waters for domestic and agricultural use, which has left little fresh water for the river and its once thriving ecosystem. Analysts have determined fifty percent of the Israel water supply actually falls outside the state borders which makes it a precious commodity and open to tactical manipulations. Water is a very critical issue in the Middle East. Not too many people think of water as a weapon of war. In the long-term hostility between Israel and her Arab neighbors the River Jordan has become a valuable bargaining chip. .
Arab states have increasingly diverted the flow of the River Jordan which many believe is an act designed to frustrate Israel. Nevertheless water is a constant challenge for Jordan and Syria to meet their own needs.
It is difficult for Israel to rely on the water supply of the Jordan when the diversion takes place beyond her borders.
The region has been at war over water before.
The Six-Day War (June, 1967) took place after Israeli army and air-force attacked a Syrian diversion of the Banyas River. In this war Israel captured the Golan Heights, which allowed them to prevent further Banyas diversions.
Even now when Syria threatens to take back the Golan it is the water supply to Israel, that is threatened. Of course there are military advantages too.
The Israel water supply relies on access to the West Bank and the Golan Heights. .
Gidon Bromberg spoke with me on BFP Radio (www.bridgesforpeace.com). He described how the River Jordan's annual flow has dropped from more than 1.3 billion cubic meters per year to less than 100 million cubic meters.
"Israel, Jordan and Syria are each grabbing as much clean water as they can, and sadly it is the sewage that is keeping the river alive today," he said.
Bromberg warned that the Jordan could be dry by next summer.
Israel has denied it is taking more than its fair share of water from the Jordan River basin. A peace treaty between Israel and Jordan was signed in 1967. The two signatories agreed to share the waters of the Jordan River as well as the Yarmouk, a tributary. Jordanians have complained Israel has been consuming more water than was agreed. That complaint fell on deaf ears.
"The agreement suits both sides pretty well. There are no complaints," said Uri Schor, spokesman for the Israeli water commissioner.
In a report on the crisis to IRIN news, Mira Edelstein who is based in Israel said, 'We are taking more water than anyone else. It's more than our share, and it's something we need to fix. It will have to be part of a final peace treaty with the Palestinians. Israel knows it will have to change its ways when we start talking about peace. Water is almost as difficult an issue as the refugee issue." (1)
Experts predict that Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Territories will be running a water deficit of 1-2 billion cubic meters a year by 2020.
The River Jordan originates in the mountains of eastern Lebanon. It flows through the entrance of the Great Syrian Rift Valley and is fed at various sources in Jordan, Israel, Syria and Lebanon.
"The Jordan's main sources are the Hasbani River, which flows from Lebanon to Israel, the Banyas River, which flows from Syria to Israel, the Dan River, which begins and flows inside Israel, and the Yarmouk River, which begins near the Golan Heights and flows to the Jordan River. Following its flow into 'Lake of Galilee', the Jordan River continues southward into the center of the Jordan Valley, forming the border between the western edge of Jordan and eastern side of Israel including part of the Palestinian Autonomy. The Jordan continues flowing into the Dead Sea, and then through a smaller stream it flows eventually into the Red Sea," writes Lilach Grunfeld in an ICE Case Study. (2)
The tell-tale sentence in the ICE Case Study, written in 1997 says, "All other rivers in Israel dry up for periods of months and do not fill up until the winter. The other major rivers in Israel are contaminated with agricultural and industrial sewage, which makes the Jordan River the only natural and clean river in the country."
What a difference a decade makes?
According to the IRIN news report: "Only 10 percent of the water in the River Jordan gets to the Dead Sea. As a result, the sea's water level is dropping by about a metre a year and it has lost about 30 percent of its surface area." (1)
"South of the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River doesn't flow anymore. All of the water is diverted for domestic use and agriculture. What goes into it is raw sewage and agricultural runoff from all sides," Edelstein said.
A new dam built as a joint Jordan-Syria project is causing the current mounting concern. Experts say the new dam will hold 110 million cubic meters of water and will seriously effect the flow of the Yarmouk River into the Jordan between Lake Kinneret and the Dead Sea. The new dam will reduce the flow into the Jordan to nothing more than a trickle, Gidon Bromberg warned.
There is a dangerous lack of cooperation between the countries along the Jordan and eventually the results will be catastrophic. Will the next war be over water or oil? Interesting thought?
Bromberg appealed for support from Christians around the world who regard the Jordan River as holy because of the baptism of Jesus.
The Jordan River means so much to anyone who reads the Bible.
Bromberg said, the Jordan has biblical significance for Jews, Christians and Moslems and it needs their response if it is to remain.
He advised that appeals to the Israel Ministry of Tourism could produce a positive response. Governments often respond when they see their lack of interest or activity registers in the cash column.
He advised listeners to write to the King of Jordan, the Israeli Prime Minister and local Israeli Embassies to protest the situation. He also asked that the media be contacted and made aware of the pending crisis.
Visit the very informative Friends of the Earth - Middle East website and join their campaign to rescue the River - www.foeme.org or email Gidon Bromberg at info @foeme.org
(1) http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/runningdry/55528.asp
(2) ICE Case study: http://www.american.edu/TED/ice/JORDAN.HTM
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Three years ago he joined Bridges for Peace in Jerusalem to establish international radio news and an audio service webcast at www.bridgesforpeace.com Ron was Sports Editor of WINTV for 20 years before joining the full-time missions. You can contact Ron at : ronrossbfp@hotmail.com |
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