Going Green in Israel, All the way

When the first post-war Jewish settlers arrived in Israel it was a  neglected, soil-eroded wasteland spotted with swamps and rural villages connected by rocky fields. In only 60 (very short) years the once semi-arid salt land has been transformed into 420,000 hectares of cultivated lush terrain and the country has become an icon to agricultural engineering achievements. Despite the country’s limited water resources, Israel’s agricultural sector has maintained a steady, uninterrupted growth since 1948 and it is expected to thrive on for years to come.

Israel’s long love affair with technology extends far beyond the hi-tech boardrooms of Tel Aviv and into the rich, green hi-tech farms found throughout this relatively tiny stretch of land.

Israel’s Agricultural engineering applies technological tools which have successfully increased production and product quality without harming the environment or exhausting the limited water supply. Technological advances in agricultural engineering, such as the ongoing development of recycled water sources along with brilliant irrigation methods and the development of water efficient crops have secured Israel’s food supply well into 2020, when the country is estimated to reach a population of 8.5 million. With this being said, it only seems natural for Israel to play a vital roll in the ongoing Green revolution.

Although you won’t find sparking clean sidewalks in downtown Tel Aviv just yet, Israeli’s are showing signs of readiness; they seem eager to step up to the plate with their aim on a green future. Thousands have already started lending their time and God given talents, focusing an overwhelming amount of energy on halting the systematic destruction of our planets’ environment. For many years, Israeli scientists have occupied themselves with producing promising bio-fuel alternatives and finding renewable energy solutions. Farmers have never ceased in their quest to develop better ways to conserve water; green communities are being developed; entrepreneurs are hopping on the Clean-Tech band wagon, green schools are on the rise and chains of organic super markets are springing up in every town.

It has taken the ‘green’ paradigm shift quite some time to occur in Israel. Ten years ago, Israeli’s (along with the rest of the world) didn’t realize how fragile our planet truly is. People talked about global warming but we casually blamed it all on ‘El Niño‘ thinking planet earth would somehow fix itself, eventually. Most Israeli’s figured nothing concrete could actually be done on an individual level, let alone on a grand social scale, so why bother? Much like most of the world, Israeli’s are witnessing more and more global catastrophes on TV; the images of violent tornadoes, deadly cyclones, flooding, mud slides and tsunamis, (not to mention, people dropping like flies in smoldering heat waves) are far more frightening to an Israeli than a terrorist attack or a measly little war.

This 21st century manifestation and new awakening isn’t unique to Israel. There are many countries now making sweeping changes in order to protect the environment and possibly reverse the systematic damage we’ve done to our planet since the beginning of the industrial revolution. However, what’s notably different here is that in a very short period of time, Israel has made a full 360 and positioned itself among leading Green advocates worldwide and Israeli citizens at large have been struck with a sudden urge to actually DO something! Even the Israeli government, which is habitually plagued by bureaucratic red tape, is adamant about making a change to its Eco-policies. Knesset members who, by the way, are fellow humans whom inhabit the earth, also realize that they can’t afford to take on their typical lazy-foot-dragging approach when it comes to the environment. Surprising as it sounds, the Knesset is rapidly pushing through a dormant ‘clean-air’ Bill and is offering monetary rewards to citizens for recycling and for using solar energy.

Green Neighborhoods in Israel
A new green neighborhood, the first of it’s kind in Israel, has been in the works for several years. Some had called the Eco-Project nothing more than a dream back in its earliest stages of development. The idea of a green neighborhood in Israel seemed like some far fetched Utopian, idealistic fantasy which didn’t sink in until the ink on the land purchase was dry and even still, skeptic voices clamored on with classic examples about government red tape keeping daring developments such as this one entangled in paper for years but the ambitious project has overcome the typical bureaucratic measures and is finally well on it’s way to becoming an incredible reality. The environmentally friendly community, which will be completed by 2010, will be situated in the city of Kfar Saba, adjacent to Ranana (Kfar Saba city officials are not shy about their ambitious plans to win UN recognition as Israel’s first Green City).

“Although the neighborhood will be set on 160 acres of land, very little will be used for housing and most of the neighborhood will be comprised of rich landscapes which will be entirely irrigated using recycled water.” says property consultant and Kfar Saba native, Israel Sheinfeld. “There is a high demand for apartments in the project, not only because of the environmentally friendly features the neighborhood will offer it’s residents, but also because of it’s prime location. We’ve successfully organized a real estate group-purchase for 100 units in less than 30 days and have recently obtained rights for another 45 units which are due to go on the market by the end of June 2008. If you’re looking to invest in Israel Real Estate, this is one opportunity you won’t want to miss.”

The neighborhood will be built according to new strictly green guidelines which will guarantee residents better thermal insulation, electricity and water conservation components in every unit, solar power systems, an underground garbage removal system, connecting pedestrian and bicycle paths which never intervene with cars, plenty of natural lighting, beautiful green surroundings and spacious apartments.

Those lucky few that seize the opportunity and buy a home in Kfar Saba’s green village will go down in history as daring pioneers in Israel’s Go-Green revolution which collectively speaking, will have a huge impact on the way we plan communities in Israel and in the entire world, in the 21st century.

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Copyright 2008 – Diana Deborbón -